Adolescent Bipolar-The Severity of Ignorance

In cases of adolescent bipolar disorders, there is always a concern that there may be self injury as a result of the illness. Self-injury can come in many forms and regardless of the type of self-injury, it is a serious problem.

Self mutilation, typically in the form of cutting is one type of self injury often associated with adolescent bipolar disease. However, self injury does not mean that the person in question is bipolar; there are other disorders which may be characterized by self mutilation.

Cutting, Burning and Even Suicide

Types of self injury seen in adolescent bipolar disease patients include cutting and burning. While these behaviors are more commonly seen in adolescent bipolar girls, it is by no means confined to this group.

Many who engage in self injury are depressed or even suicidal; but these self injuries are not actually intended to be suicide attempts – but they are often characteristic of adolescent bipolar disorder patients.

While self injury is not a suicide attempt, there is a risk of suicide present in the same adolescent bipolar disease patients who engage in self injury. There may be warning signs like suicidal fantasies, planning for the act and possibly tentative suicide attempts made. Any self injuries should be treated with the utmost seriousness.

Thinking about suicide can drive a depressed adolescent bipolar patient to obsess on the idea. At this point there is a serious risk of wither self injury or suicide attempts.

Be Careful

Once an adolescent bipolar disorder patient starts planning for suicide, they should be watched closely. While they may never go beyond the planning stage, there is a genuine risk of self injury or suicide in these patients – and whether or not they will actually carry out any of these acts is difficult to predict.

In many cases, it may not even be known that an adolescent bipolar disorder patient is entertaining suicidal thoughts until they actually make an attempt. Any and all suicide attempts should be taken very seriously, as should any self injuries or attempts at self injury.

These patients must be monitored, something which statistics have borne out – people who have made suicide attempts are 40 times more likely to successfully commit suicide than are those who have never made an attempt.

Watch for Signs

Any time an adolescent bipolar disorder sufferer starts to try to set their affairs in order out of the blue should be taken as a red flag that they are considering suicide. Making financial arrangements such as a will or giving away prized possessions are definite signs; these patients are certainly also at risk of self injury.

Remember that a large number of suicidal thoughts and attempts ultimately end in a successful suicide attempt. Around 11% of deaths in the US are self-inflicted and the numbers of adolescent bipolar disorder patients who kill themselves is increasing.

Bipolar disorder is a very difficult condition to cope with, even without self injury and suicide attempts. When there are acts of self injury or suicide attempts, adolescent bipolar disorder sufferers must be especially closely attended to.